Broken Promises
by Sparrowhawk1952
Summary: Irony is painful, and why Danny hates Hawaii...really.


Disclaimer: If I were a rich man...dodedoodo doo...But I'mnot, so I don't own. Byeeee.

A/N: This is a one shot..for now. Danny centric. Also, if you have *any* ideas for future fics, please pm them to me! Action, adventure, romance, smut...anything. I will write shippyness for Danny/Rachel and Steve/Kono. Rated T just because I don't spare language

Broken Promises.

Danny was quiet. And that was rare. Steve watched him with a sidelong glance as they drove, the blonde man's arm on the windowframe, his fingers carressing the top of the door idly, a thoughtful, almost unreadable expression on his face. Quiet wasn't like Danny, "Everything ok?" Steve asked, breaking the ten straight minutes of quietness.

"Yeah." Came the quiet reply. "I hate this place." He added, with a little less venom then normal. Maybe he was getting sick or something.

_She giggled, tucking her neck towards him, "Daniel, seriously, please wait until we are not in public."  
"I can't keep my hands off of you..do you blame me." His blue eyes sparkled with love, looking fresh, pressed and neat in the black tuxedo, brilliant blue tie bringing out the sharp ocean blueness of his eyes, he nuzzled his new wife's neck, his arms around her waist, enjoying the view of her strapless white gown. She squeeled as he picked her up, twirling her in his arms bridal style to the applause and laughter of the reception hall. "I'll never stop touching you, Rachel Williams, so get used to it." He kissed her then, long and sweet. "I'll love you forever." He vowed, a breathless whisper._

"What are you looking at there?" Rachel paused at her daughter's door, the little girl curled up Indian style on her bed, a box and an album on the bed in front of her. She advanced.

"You and Daddy's wedding pictures." Grace replied, "I think you were very pretty, Mommy." She said softly, holding a picture of them, Danny's lips on her cheek, she blushing...he was a cut-up and always would be. Rachel smiled softly inspite of herself, a hot feeling behind her eyes.

"Where did you get those, Grace."

The little girl shrugged, not willing to give up her secrets. "Can I keep this one Mommy?" She asked quietly, "You and Daddy look happy in it." There was a tone to Grace's voice that cut straight to Rachel's heart.

"Yes, baby." She said, going to her, stroking back the dark hair and kissing her temple.

_"It's not the Hilton..but."  
"It's fine, Danny." She said softly, drawing him close and kissing him. "I love you..not where you take me on our honeymoon."  
He smirked slightly, the corner of his mouth turning up, his eyes crinkling lightly, "So a hotel over the river beats the beaches of Hawaii huh?" _

_Rachel chuckled, "Because it's with you." She put her arms around his neck, letting him carry her in the room, setting her down with a tender kiss, kicking the door shut behind them._

_"I promise you, Rachel...ten years from now...when I've had a few promotions, a better salary...I'll take you to Hawaii...we'll have our tenth anniversary there." He cupped her face, his eyes overflowing with love for her, "We'll swim in the ocean, make love on the beach."  
Rachel smiled, stroking his hair, "I'll hold you to that, Williams."_

"Danny...yo..brah." A dark female hand waved in front of his face, he looked up.

"Sorry...what were you saying Kono?" He didn't quite look right, his eyes had a faraway look, they were darker then usual, and he was incredibly quiet.

The Asian woman perched on the side of his desk, watching him quietly, "I was asking you about some case files from last week, McGarrett can't find them in his office and he's getting growly, says you're disorganized...amoung other things." She smirked, but the smile fell when Danny didn't even respond, just shrugged.

"I'll get them to him." He sat up, reaching for his desk drawer.

"What's wrong." Kono asked, gently.  
"Nothing..I'm okay."  
"You and the ex get into another fight." His eyes flickered at her words,

"No."

Kono sat there a minute, taking the file from him when he handed to her, watching him as he turned back to his computer, she took that as a hint and left.

"What's wrong with Danny, Steve..what'd you do to him this time." She asked, laying the file on her boss' desk, her hands splayed as she leaned forward. Steve felt acutely like an interrogated child, Kono's eyebrow quirked up, her gaze intense.

"I..didn't do anything to him." Steve countered, pushing back and standing, "he's been like that all day...quiet and stuff." He shrugged, "I figured if he wanted to talk about it he would."  
Kono gave an exasperated sound, throwing her hands up, "men." She muttered, leaving to her own cubby hole.

_"I don't think so..You're not getting me on a surfboard."  
Rachel laughed merrily at Danny's expression, leaning back on the ratted couch, her hand on the small baby bump developing, "I don't know, I think it would be funny." She laughed again as Danny growled. "Hey now..it's freezing outside, there's ten feet of snow.."  
"Four actually."  
"Okay four." She chuckled, "Four feet of snow, I'm cold, I have a craving for soft pretzels...let me have my fantasy eight years early." Her eyes sparkled._

_Danny smiled at her, his expression softening, "If I get you a soft pretzel will you stop about the surfing?"  
Rachel smirked, "I might need more convincing."  
"More?" His eyebrows raised, "I'm daring life and limb to walk the block to satisfy you." He teased._

_"Aww poor baby." She smiled, pulling him close, a few hours later she had her soft pretzel and her man wrapped around her back, his scruffy chin in her neck...all thoughts of surfing aside..it was plenty warm right there._

"I found you and Mommy's wedding pictures." Grace piped up.  
"You did?" Danny looked over at his daughter as he drove her home after his weekend. He tried to keep his voice light for her. The little girl nodded,  
"Yeah.. I kept one of the pictures, Mommy said I could."

He sighed as they stopped at the gate,

"Aren't you coming to the door with me, Daddy?"  
"Not today, monkey." He led her to the gate, punching in the code for her, hugging her close. "See you later, okay?"  
"Bye Danno." She kissed him lightly, walking up the walk, he caught a glimpse of her mother on the porch...she stood there, their gazes meeting. Tomorrow. Tomorrow was ten years.

Danny glared at the readout on his phone, "What." He snapped.

There was quietness for awhile, "Well..I was going to tell you to come over for some beers, but.."  
Danny sighed, "Sorry Steven. I'm not feeling very social."  
"Yeah, we've noticed."  
"We?"  
"Your team. Your partner. And I also know you're sitting in that crappy little apartment all by yourself because you just took Grace back, you've been almost silent all week...we're worried about you. So..come over..have some beers...we'll be quiet together."

Danny agreed, disconnected and headed over, trying to ignore the scenery around him. He idly walked up to Steve's door, "Out here." Steve called, waving a bottle in the air. The fucking beach. Lovely. Danny nodded, his hands deep in his pocket as he walked over to his partner, he sat, taking the beer in hand, he drank slowly, the two of them sitting in companionable silence for quite sometime, watching the waves beat the beach. Their bottles began to line up in a green line next to each other on the sand.

"Why..why does everyone live on the damned fucking beach." Danny asked, breaking the now hour long silence.

Steve glanced at him, his words weren't slurred, he was still stone cold sober. "They just do. And not everyone does...some people live inland, you know that." He said gently.

"You. Live on the beach." He said, taking a swig. "I hate this place."  
"You've said that...quite frequently over the past few months. Then you go and try to learn to surf.."  
"Did that for Gracie." He said softly. "I do everything for her."  
"You're a good dad, Danny." Steve said, his beer setting idly on his flat stomach.

"Rachel and I would have been married ten years tomorrow." Danny stated five minutes later. He resisted the impulse to toss his bottle and shatter it, he didn't want to have to look for the shards.

Steve didn't reply. He just listened, not even looking at his partner, giving him his space as he began to talk. Danny was a cut-up, a snark, a big talker, it was all a cover for his deep, sensitive soul, for his emotions.

"I couldn't afford much of a honeymoon." He continued, "I promised to take her to Hawaii for our tenth anniversary." He snorted.

Steve looked at him, long, his eyes calculating the emotions on his face, the rawness of them.

"Pretty fucking ironic isn't it." He spat.

"So that's it."  
"So that's what, Steven." Danny was glowering.

"That's..why you hate Hawaii."  
"No..no that is not why I hate Hawaii, I have listed on many occasions why I hate this pineapple infested hell hole, and because I made a promise to my ex wife ten years ago is *not* one of them."  
"You're sure about that."  
"Totally."  
"Okay." Steve shrugged.

"Okay? You're..just gonna let that go? Not press me?"

"Why would I do that, Danny." Steve asked, trying to keep the exasperation out of his voice. "You say it's not why, it's not why. Let's not pussy ourselves."

There was another very long silence. "Okay..maybe it is a little." Danny said, watching the sky become a brilliant red. "I mean..think about it. Here we are..both of us..where we promised to be when we were still in love..with our kid to boot. And she's with another man and isn't even mine anymore.' THe pain was there, the loneliness in his voice.

"I'm sorry, man." Steve said, setting down the last beer.

"Can you keep a secret." The question was verging on childish, insecure and unmanly.

"I keep lots of secrets, brother."

"I still am crazy about her." The words were quiet.

"You're still in love with her." Steve added, softly, gently. He'd seen it when they were together at her new house..the way he complained, griped about the bed, the tea...everything. Stan was one upping him on everything, bigger and better in his eyes, when the man still loved the woman receiving these things.

"Deepily." Danny leaned forward, his arms on his knees, beer bottle dangling from his fingers as his head was bowed.

"What's wrong?" Was the sleepy question as the woman in question removed herself from his arms,

"I need to check on Grace." She answered softly. Her only reply was a snore. She snorted, shaking her head and leaving the huge bedroom and the huge bed and walked down the hall to her little girl's room. She smiled softly as she saw the little girl curled up, a big teddy in her arms. It was the newest gift from her father and she didn't go a night without it. It smelled like Daddy's house, she'd said. Tears stung Rachel's eyes. It shouldn't still bother her. They'd been divorced for two years now...it never bothered her this badly...the date rolled around with a little pang..but this year..this year they were together..here..where they'd promised to be. She sniffed, Danny always did keep his promise.

"Mommy?" Grace sat up, her sleepy expression much like her fathers, "Mommy, are you ok?  
Rachel nodded, rubbing her arms as she stood in the door, "Yes..I'm fine..just a little sniffle, sorry to wake you."  
Grace shrugged, cuddling back down and Rachel left, shutting the door softly behind her, padding to the end of the hall where a big window looked down over the drive and the gate. What had happened? Really..they were so supremely happy then. She hadn't cared about the little money, the danger she hated. And she hated bringing a child into that...the fear every day that someone would come and tell them that their man was gone forever. Funny...in the over a year she and Stan had been here...they'd never made love on the beach or did half the things Danny had promised her. She started, seeing the flash of something silver at the gate, holding her breath she watched, there was a shadow, small in stature, stockily built. She swallowed, feeling his eyes find her, his hand rested on the wrought iron, gripping it as if he was in a jail cell, the moon illuminating him from the back. Her heart squeezed, her hand coming to rest on the window pane. The clock downstairs chimed out twelve even strokes. Rachel swallowed, they hadn't stopped or moved from either of their posistions. She wanted to go to him, but she knew she shouldn't. Those days were gone, and that was her choice...her choice to leave off, to marry another man that wasn't home half the time. A single tear traced down her cheek. "Happy Anniversary, Daniel." She said, softly, a breath, her palm flat against the window.

He looked up, barely could see her in the big window, her white robe around her slender frame he knew so well and missed so badly. The iron gate bar was cool in his hand as he gripped it, why he'd come here he didn't know..he'd just driven after leaving Steve's...to think. He wasn't drunk, not even buzzed, he wasn't stupid..he was a cop after all. He wished he could go to her, keep his promises. But she had chosen to let them go. So here they were, at the stroke of midnight...their lives completely different. She'd moved on, and it was constantly in his face. A single tear travelled down his cheek. He wondered why she still stood there..her hand pressed against the window..her lips moved and then she backed away slowly, he pressed against the gate, his hands gripping the bars as if in jail. He swallowed as she turned, "Happy Anniversary, Rachel." He said quietly, before turning away, walking back to his car, his head down, hands in his pockets, the moon the only witness to the sad exchange. One promise he must have kept...he would indeed love her forever.


End file.
